Ahead of his time

Commonweal, May 21, 2004 by E. Leo McMannus

Kudos for the perceptive, exquisitely titled "A Bitter Pill" by Leslie Tentler. In 1968, Tentler writes, "nothing was as devastating to the church's credibility as Humanae vitae and the paralysis it generated."

At the time, Rev. Charles Curran was making the same argument at The Catholic University of America. In August 1986, however, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger pronounced apodictically that Curran could "no longer be considered suitable or eligible to exercise the function of a professor of Catholic theology." Ironically, only two years ago a group of distinguished scholars at home and abroad honored Curran with A Call to Fidelity, a collection of essays for his contributions to the field of Catholic ethics over the past forty years.

E. LEO McMANNUS

Venice, Fla.